What is the three-in-a-box people strategy? In essence, it is the core veins to the employee life cycle: to attract, hire and train. Employees are core to every company. As you read, please keep the following in mind, as it is very important: Companies do not exist without people, and this article will help to ignite this strategy and reap the benefits for all.
Companies of all sizes need employees to innovate. Companies need employees to create. Companies need people to aspire. Companies need people to execute and do the work. Below is a plan to bring innovation, creation and aspiration back to companies with the three-in-a-box people strategy to win.
There are three goals that all companies need to achieve in order to be the best in their industries: They need to attract people, hire people and train people. In the last decade, companies have really only been doing the first two -- attracting and hiring -- as the economy rose and unemployment went down. They attracted and hired people and provided little to no training and development for all the people they had hired. This created a cycle of ignoring applicants and, instead, surfing for candidates on LinkedIn, which has become the new norm. And once they were hired, very little was put into continuous training and education. After a little more than a year, on average, the new hire would stagnate and leave for a new job, leaving the company to churn through yet another employee 15 months later.
There's a school of thought that talent stands alone, and hiring people with past success indicates future success. Talent isn't talent until it's developed, however. Here are some stats showing how companies rinse, recycle and repeat, hiring for the same role over and over again.
1. Does anyone know the percentage of employed people who are currently looking for a new job? According to a 2017 study, it's 71%. That means that as soon as you hire someone, they're looking for another job. Recruiters who hunt down passive candidates are sprinkling your new hire’s inbox with the next best opportunity -- probably using similar words and promises that were used to bring them to your company. This is a colossal waste of money, time and culture. According to a 2012 study, replacing a salaried worker costs anywhere from 20% to more than 200% of that employee's annual salary. That's a huge investment every time you hire a new team member. But then, all too soon, they are gone; rinse, repeat and throw more money out the door.
2. Do you know the reasons millennials are leaving jobs year over year? It’s not just money, benefits or any of the stereotypical, superficial perks you’ve heard about. Actually, it’s bad managers, and lack of training and development. Managers are not coaching them. Managers are not guiding them. Managers have a million things to do, and providing performance feedback is often bottom of the list until the mundane and often arduous annual performance review time comes into play. A typical manager today is expected to be a player/coach and to do more with less, which means they will always focus first on executing on deliverables rather than coaching their team.
3. So many companies are asking venture capitalists and shareholders for money to bring on the resources that they need to make their dreams happen -- to be a unicorn, to create and build something -- and yet, they take this money and throw it out the window, along with their talent.
Here’s the message: Stop attracting, hiring and rehiring. Start attracting, hiring and training. We have a “war on talent” and an “American skills shortage” at the same time. Let’s call it what it is: Companies are not investing in people. In order to win hearts and minds and build a culture of continuous innovation, start investing in people. Train your people, and empower them to create, innovate and aspire. The three steps below will help you build and continue innovation.
Attract
Attracting employees is not about beautiful offices, unnecessary swag or anything superficial. What matters is how you will treat people and the benefits you will provide to help them succeed long-term in their careers. When you go out to attract employees, bring the values within the company and bring the people who exemplify these values, along with their "why." People want what is genuine and authentic instead of being a constant consumer of sales. Depicting the values of the company is the best strategy to attract talent.
Hire
Anyone can hire someone, but can you create a great experience from the first interaction throughout the process until the offer? When you look at hiring someone, look at the candidate experience you want to provide and why. The candidate experience should reflect all the values mentioned above. Whether you hire them or not does not matter. What matters is how you communicated with them along the way. Did you depict a trusting and safe environment? Did you provide the feedback needed along the way? Your candidate is also a potential customer, so begin to treat candidates like consumers, and everyone wins.
Train
The most important step of the three-in-a-box approach is building a culture of continuous learning. Many employees struggle due to lacking a few skills and managers being too busy to provide guidance. Provide training and coaching for these gaps to create lifelong learning where everyone benefits. Goals are met. Outputs grow higher. Innovation and creativity are not secondary due to employees leaving and morale being down -- but, instead, everyone is thriving. Lifelong learning provides lifelong benefits to talent and the companies maturity to succeed today and tomorrow. In creating a culture of learning, a company creates a culture of transparency, empathy, creativity and innovation, and everyone reaps the benefits.
Companies are people, so begin to invest in them. This builds companies and cultures with fewer gaps and solid foundations of amazing people. Use the three-in-a-box strategy and win.
